Material-separator



M. AJDEAN'. MATERIAL SEPARATOR.

APPLICATION FILED MAR- 31. I920.

Patented Apr. 26, 1921;

unite. sari-as earner r11 IlIERREL A. DEAN, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR Ti) "WILLIAMS PATENT CRUSI-IER'& PULVERIZER (10., OF ST. LOUIS, IVIISSOUEI, A CORPORATION OF MISSOURI.

MATERIAL-SEPARATOR.

Specification of Letters Patent. I P ttented; 'Ap 26, 1921.

Application filed March 31, 1920. Serial No. 370,163.

' To all whom it may concern B it known that l, dnnnnnn A. DEAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at city of St. Louis, State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful improvements in lllaterial-Separators, of which the following is a specification. i

This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in material separators, the peculiarities of which will be hereinafter fully described and claimed.

. The main object of my invention is to provide means to separate metal and other foreign or extraneous substances from feed that is fed to a reducing mill that is subject to air suction; second to provide adjustment for such means in order to adapt the separator to different kinds of feed and also to separate feed that has another variety mixed with it, such as wheat that has corn mixed with it, and it is desired to separatethe corn from the wheat by air suction. To this end I provide means to deliver thin stream of material close to a wide side inlet to a box subject to suction. so that air entering this inlet carries the llghter feed particles up slanting wall, while the metal and heaviest particles will refuse the ascent and will move outward away from the side inlet to an adjacent trough where they are collected.

In the accompanying drawing on which like reference letters indicate corresponding parts, Figure 1 represents a front view of a reducing mill with fan attached and my separator applied to said mill; Fig. 2 an end view of my separator detached showing the same elevation as in Fig. 1 only larger; Fig. 3 a vertical central section of Fig. 2 with the sectional elevation viewed from the right. turned up into the plane of the paper; and Fig. a a sectional elevation in perspective on the line 2-2 of Fig. 3 looking toward the left as indicated by arrows and showing the side inlet D of the box; A. later deseribed,--the pivoted slanting; wall showing inside beyond the inlet, and the end of the out off slide above the inlet. In other forms of separators for handling feed delivered to a reducing mill and subject to air suction,

efficient in its action upon the different ingredients in said feed. By my device the means whereby the act of separation is ac complished, arelocated directly adjacent to the entranceto the mill, and the feed is delivered to said separating means with the minimum amount of gravitating momentum, so that the air suction does not have to overcome such momentum in delivering the feed proper to the mill, while allowing the separation'of the foreign substances or other particles that it is not desired to send to the mill. Other pecularities will appear in the description hereafter.

Referring to the drawing the letter A designates the side and end walls of a rectangular box having a semi-cylindrical or. other curved top B and provided with a bottom outlet 0 and a side inlet l) as shown in Fig. 3. A face view looking toward the side inlet is shown in e. The open bottom is adapted to register or be connected with the throat of a casing that is connectedto suction means, such as a reducingmill E of any suitable style having a fan F operatively connected thereto so as to produce an air suction through said mill and my separator; the outletof the separator registers with the throat of said mill and preferably constitutes tlieflarger part of the bottom of the shallow box A, the balance of the bottom forming a flat horizontal or slightly inclined portion G that extends outward and down-. ward from the box A, and also forms the bottom of the open'top trough that is adjacent and opposite inlet D and is pro vided with side walls H. and an end *all I that may be raised as indicated by an arrow to discharge the metal or heaviest material that settles slowly down the inclined bottom of the trough G under the vibration produced by the mill, as such vibration is usual in mills of this class. @utside of the box A and above the inlet opening l), is a feed spout J and hopper K to which feed is delivered by a spout L. The hopper K is flaring and larger than the end of the feed spout L, which latter extends below the upper edge of the hopper so that the fees, if it banks up in the hopper, will not overflow the edge should it be delivered faster than the mill can take it or it is fed through the spout (l. A regulating slide M extends downward in the spout J so that the'lower end of the slide is directly adjacent to the 7 boX inlet D, and the material isallowed to fall from thespoutJ so close to the inlet that no appreciable amount of gravitatinp' momentum is acquired by the food before i comes opposite the inlet D.

Extending into the box A and inclined upward and inward, is an inclined wall N preferably in the form of a damper that is pivoted on a horizontal axis 0 at or near the lower side or" the inlet D. The pivotal mounting of the damper is preferably movable by hinging it to a plate or pan P that constitutes a false bottom as it rests upon the inclined bottom G. The pivot 01? said damper preferably extends out hrough a slot Q in the side wall of the be and adjacent separating chamber B below the slide M and opposite the inlet D. The side of the plate P is turned up at S so as to cover the slot Q, and the bottom plate P likewise covers a slot T in the bottom G through which projects the bolt of a thumb nut U to maintain the plate that carries the pivoted damper in any horizontally adjusted position. The inclination of the damper is regulated from outside by means or" cranlr handle V the end of which engages with a projection ll or other means in the side wall of the box. The damper can thus be inclined the change of inclination the damper is made to increase or lessen its retarding effect upon the material that is sucked in through the inlet D and upward over the inclined wall or damper N and into the mill by the air suction of the fan. I By the horizontal adjustment of the inclined wall, the damper varies the vertical opening of the inlet D and thus varies the velocity of the air drawn into said inlet and thus act with greater or lesser force upon the feed delivered to the inlet from the spout J.

Thus-in operation of this separator, the feed material flowing into the feed spout J from the hopper K, will be spread out by the slide M into a thin stream that is delivered close to the upper edge of the side inlet D opening into the box A, and the air rushing into said inlet will take with it the lighter feed particle and carry them against and up over the slanting wall N, while the.

metal and heaviest particles will refuse to ascend and will pass to the right and tate down the inclined trough bottom between the walls 11 to the end wall I.

In order further to control the air currents actinp upon the feed at the inlet 1). I

the lower edge of 3 may bebrought very close to the inlet D, and the inclined wall M maybe slid forward so that it is also close to the lower edge oi the deflector, and the air current may thus act with greater ellicienoy upon any particular portion of the feel at the inlet D. The outer wall of the separating chamberllis glazed at 6 so that without interfering with the air suction one may observe the action of the air currents relivered by the deflector 3 to the feed at he inlet D, and vary the inclination ofthe 'nclined wall or damper and also the pivotal ocation ofthe damper, to accord with the reed being op rated on. I

I also provide a slide?) extending downward betw en the curred top E of the box: and the wall of the feed spout J as shown in Fig. 3, which will vary the vertical height of the inlet D and give a further .control of the velocity and quantity of air drawn with the sod. By this regulation of the air I. am able to separate from bran, the metal or gravel and such material which will not travel up the inclined wall ll under an air current that will raise the bran. T he netal is thus left at the bottom of the incline and gravitates down toward the slide l. In practice l have found that when the mill is started the air suction is'very strong, and I therefore provide an air regulator in the shape or a sliding cover for an open- "ing 9 in the curred top B of the box and opposite the damper by which-the force of the air currents entering at D may be diminished. The dotted inclination of the damper shown in Fig.7 3 indicates the adjustment when the mill is started up and when the air regulator slide 7 is raised. lVhen the mill is fully loaded however and less air is drawn in, the cover 7 is more or less closed and the damper N is turned downward to the position shown in full li cs which is about the inclination l have tonne operative with bran under such condition.

Not only is my device adapted for separation of metal particles and gravel but different kinds oi? feed, such corn when mixed with wheat, may be separated by proper adjustment of the inclined wall or damper and regulation. 01" the currents to suit'the special material, whica regulation is effected by the slide 8 and the deflector 3, well by sliding adius-tinent or" the damper farther outward or inward with regard to the separating be); A as above described. I have found that such a device as I have described as my separator can handle lighter and heavier forms of feedby suitable adjustment oi the damper and the an: regulathas thus been determined. \Vhenever the reducing mill is not taking the feed as fast as it is delivered to the separating chamber R, the feed will simply bank up opposite the inlet D without overflowing, until the reducing mill has taken care of the feed already in the mill; then when the mill has cleared itself and the suction has increased, the feed that has lodged opposite the inlet D will be swept into the mill and the operation will be continued without the attention of the miller. In other forms of separators, in case this air suction is varied, the feed is liable to be discharged upon thefloor before the operator can adjust the feed to the lower suction.

In order to make close contact of the pivoted damper N with the sides A of the box, I provide a felt edge a that is fastened by strips or otherwise and thus all of the in coming currents of air together with the feed is carried up the inclined wall and into the feed mill when the air suction is properly adjusted to the material being handled.

The trough composed of the sides H, end

wall I and extension of bottom G, may be omitted to the right of the separating chamber R, but it is desirable to store the metal particles insuch a trough till they accumulate enough to be scraped from the trough by raising the end wall I.

' llhe box A containing the inclined wall N and having the side inlet D through which enter the air currents carrying the lighter feed particles delivered to the top of the inlet, are the important features of my construction shown.

I claim:

1. A separator comprising a box having an open bottom outlet and a side inlet, walls forming a feed spout discharging at said inlet and forming also a separating chamber opposite said inlet having a bottom mclined away from said box, an incllned wall extending from the lower side of said inlet inward and upward in said box, a pan slidably mounted like a false bottom in said separating chamber and connected to and carrying said inclined wall more or less into said box and thereby varying the size of said inlet, and means to produce air suction through said box.

2. A separator comprising a box having a bottom outlet and a side inlet, walls forming a feed spout discharging at said inlet and forming also a separating chamber below the spout and opposite said inlet, an inclined damper extending inside said box and pivoted at the lower side of said inlet, and slidably adjustable horizontally to vary the size of said inlet, and means to produce air suction through said separator.

3. A separator comprising walls forming a box having .a bottom outlet, walls forming a separating chamber at the side of said box and a feed spout above said chamber, said box having a side inlet communicatin with the separating chamber,-a vertica slide mounted at the top of said inlet, an inclined wall extending from the bottom of said inlet upward into said box, and means to produce air suction through said box and separating chamber.

4. A separator comprising a box having a side inlet and a bottom adjacent a pivotal damper and slidable pan hinged together forming an inclined wall and false bottom extending through said side inlet into said box, walls forming a casing for said damper and pan having a slot in the side, a pivot bolt secured to said damper andpassing through the side slot and having a crank outside the casing,-the side of said pan closing said slot,and means to produce air suction through said casing.

5. A separator comprising a shallow box having a bottom outlet adapted to be connected to the throat of a mill, and having a side inlet, walls forming a separating chamber at the side of said box adjacent to said inlet, walls forming a feed spout and regulating slide above and adjacent to said inlet, a pivoted air deflector directin air variably to said inlet, means to retard the entrance of feed through said inlet, and means to produce air suction through said separating chamber and box, substantially as described. a

6. A separator comprising a shallow box having a bottom outlet adapted to be connected to the throat of a mill and having a top provided with an air inlet regulator and having a side inlet, walls forming a separating chamber directly adjacent to said inlet-said walls extending laterally beyond said shallow box and having a bottom inclined downward away from said inlet forming a trough for collecting the heaviest particles in a feed supply, a deflecting air valve mounted in the trough opposite said inlet, a regulatable teed spout located above 1 said inlet means located in said box to raise selectively the feed entering said inlet, and means to produce air suction through said separating chamber and box to said mill, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have aflixed my signature.

MERRELL A. DEAN. 

